02/12/2025
After Liam McNeeley's explosion vs Creighton, it's realistic to envision that UConn Men's Basketball can win another national championship this season.
First off, the team has a lot of talented scorers: McNeeley, Solo Ball, Alex Karaban, Tarris Reed, Slamson Johnson and Jaylin Stewart headline the list.
Second, the defense the last few games against top flight competition has really picked up. UConn held Creighton, St, John's and Marquette each to 40%.
Also, UConn overwhelming won the rebounding advantage against SJU and MU, and also out-rebounded the Bluejays last night - despite Johnson and Reed having massive foul trouble.
Lastly, UConn starting the game Wednesday with a "4 bigs" lineup, and playing extended stretches with a 6-7 forward at the guard position, has the team much improved with their afore-mentioned defense and rebounding.
I think if the Huskies went bigger for longer against St. John's, they would have won going away, rather than letting the warrior Hassan Diarra try to gut out 34 minutes on a bad knee.
We're nearing UConn's time of year when the team starts to peak, and the win over Creighton feels like a turning point.